Jean-Marie Vianney

Holy Jean-Marie Vianney (or Vianey or Viannay or Viennet), known as the Priest of Ars , born the May 8th 1786 with Dardilly, close to Lyon, it dies on August 4th 1859 with Ars-on-Formans.

Biography

Holy Jean-Marie Vianney (or Vianey or Viannay or Viennet), known as the Priest of Ars , born the May 8th 1786 with Dardilly, close to Lyon, in a family of farmers was the Curé of the parish of Ars-on-Formans during 41 years.

In 1806 the priest of Écully, Mr. Balley, opened a small seminar where Jean-Marie was sent. It was a poor pupil, especially because it had started to study very late. It had great difficulties, and its knowledge was limited to a little Arithmétique, a little Histoire and a little Géographie; the study of the Latin was for him a torment although it was helped by its school-fellow Matthieu Loras, who was to become the first bishop of Dubuque and which gave him some lessons. Its Masters however, seeing his piety, did not doubt its vocation. Unfortunately the War of Spain claimed many soldiers and, by error, he was enlisted. But, as it had just been sick (he was still convalescent), he tested difficulties of joining his regiment, was mislaid, and, not to be punished like deserter, he agreed the proposal of a peasant to hide it under a false name, as teacher in his village, then his/her young brother having agreed to be used for his place, he could regain the small seminar. He did not include/understand anything with the Philosophie owing to the fact that she taught herself in Latin, but its bishop who knew his piety, ends up ordering it priest in 1815.

He was then sent to Écully as vicar of Mr. Balley, then after the death of this one like priest in 1818 with Ars, village of the Lyons area approximately cash 200 inhabitants at the time.

In 1824, it opened a school of girls known as " House of Providence". It made of Catherine Lassagne, humble woman and her faithful maidservant, person in charge of her school after having catéchisée it. It called it " the most beautiful flower of my garden " because it had perceived at it the gift to include/understand the love of god.

As of 1830 it was the beginning of the surge of the pilgrims.

In 1849, it founded the school of the boys, entrusted to the Brothers of the Holy Family of Belley.

" Leave twenty years a parish without priest, one will adore the bêtes" there; it had noted. Its piety, its sermons and its zeal of Pasteur brought back little by little religious enthusiasm in its parish. Man of prayers, it slept very little, spending the whole days sometimes to confess, convinced that its bet to bring back its parishioners towards God could be gained on the condition of making confidence with the divine mercy.

the cleaned saint of Ars was already regarded as a saint of sound living so much it was devoted to the work of God. He had astonishing graces in particular like confessor. Its charity was in addition unbounded: he only ate very little, spent the whole hours in worship of the the Blessed Sacrament, slept little, at the end of his life, he passed up to sixteen hours per day to confess; he redistributed all that one gave him and did not hesitate to still strip itself to provide for the needs for poorer than him.

He died in Ars the August 4th 1859, completely exhausted.

In 1905, it was Béatifié by Pie X and declared " owner of the priests of France"

In 1925, it was Canonisé by Pie XI.

In 1929, it was declared " owner of all the priests of the univers" by Magpie XI;

In 1945, visit with Ars of Mgr Angelo Roncalli, Apostolic nuncio in France, future Jean XXIII.

Anecdotes

Jean-Marie Vianney was full with good sense, could show humor.

One will have retained of him some famous sentences:

When its bed took fire, one night: " the demon could not burn the bird, it burned only the cage" .
One day a corpulent person says to him: " When you go to the Sky, I will try to hang to me to your cassock " , and Priest of Ars, which had only the skin on the bones through always all to give and to refuse food a little reconstituting that its parish tried to lavish to him, to answer: " you in good Keep! The entry of the Sky is narrow, and we would remain both with the porte".

It accepted the visit of Lacordaire: " the most famous visit which the priest of Ars received is undoubtedly that of the Lacordaire father. Coming to Lyon as a simple pilgrim, the famous Dominican one arrives incognito in a modest car. However, under the folds of its black coat, somebody sees a white dress, and very quickly the pilgrims of Ars learn which is the visitor. Deep movement. The following day, one sees the Lacordaire father listening in a humble meditation the sermon of the priest (...) It leaves it only with tearing and even goes, kneeling in front of him, until him to ask for his blessing. After which, J.M.Vianney requests it to bless it in its turn: and it is well a strange and pathetic, enlightened scene one day of the Middle Ages, worthy of saint François d' Assise and saint Dominique ". Michel of Saint-Pierre, extraordinary life of the priest of Ars .

Miracles

One reports several extraordinary or paranormaux facts, allotted to the support of God or the attacks of the devil, which marked out its life. For example its intuition of the psychological facts and/or the thoughts of others, the moments of levitation, etc

Posterity

Beatification and Canonization

The decree of the inscription to the lawsuit of beatification is signed in 1904 by Pie X. It is canonized by Pie XI in 1925. He is proclaimed in 1929 “owner of all the priests of the universe” (alias patron saint or directing saint of all the priest S of the Catholic church having the load of a parish), which means that it is recommended to those to take as a starting point his example. Its exemplary pastoral life can indeed be a hearth of resourcing for all the priests of the Catholic church. But, of course, all the inhabitants of the ground can find in him a model of charity, turned towards God and the brothers.

Pilgrimages

the Basilica of Ars

The Basilique of Ars, built fine 19th century in extension of the old church shelters the relics of the Curé saint. Its body, exhumed at the beginning of the 20th century, remained intact: it did not undergo the putrefaction. The body is exposed in a hunting to the eyes of all those which come to request it.

Jean-Paul II

The Pope Jean-Paul II, at the time of its pontifical visit in 1986 in France visited Ars-on-Formans in homage to its former priest. Jean-Paul II speaks to us about the priest of Ars is a fine work published 2004 which gathers the whole of the interventions of Jean-Paul II about the Priest of Ars.

Pilgrimages today

The commune of Ars-on-Formans is today a place of pilgrimage which would accommodate 450.000 people per annum. The reception of the sanctuary is ensured by the congregation of the Bénédictines of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre.

External bonds

Historial of the saint cleaned of Ars…
All the Sermons and the Intuitions of the saint cleaned of Ars on this site Works of the priest of Ars
Book on the teaching of the Saint, written by his évèque: The cleaned Saint of Ars and the Family
the American bishop who slapped the saint cleaned of Ars…

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